For What Comes After Death

The video showed screenshots of the diary again.

Above is the Protagonist 2's confusion and doubts about the Pneuma (soul) project.

He mainly talked about how he didn't quite understand what the plan was about, only that it was about research on the spiritual and conscious level.

However, judging from the lines, the Protagonist 2, who is a scientist, thinks this kind of research is somewhat unrealistic.

To put it bluntly, it's unreliable and a waste of money.

After reading the diary entries, the players waited for Brother Banana to explain them.

Soon, that familiar voice came through the video.

[This diary entry, dated July 9, 2023, gave us our first understanding of the Pneuma (Soul) project and its research direction.]

[Through this Pneuma (Soul) project, we have identified the parallel world's Control Bureau, whose technological level has reached an unimaginable level. Research into the mental and consciousness levels alone is enough to demonstrate that this Control Bureau is even more powerful than the Control Bureau in the game's original 199? year. This project also foreshadows the Control Bureau's later extermination of humanity.]

[Project Pneuma (Soul) went unnoticed for four years until something astonishing happened—the resurrection of the Protagonist 2 FBC director.]

[It's worth emphasizing here that the Protagonist 2's diary spans a significant period. It begins in 2443 and ends in 2448, covering a full five years. The earlier analysis of the parallel universe also covers events that occurred during these five years. Therefore, from the Protagonist 2's diary over these five years, we learn about three plot lines: the FBC's experimental research, the story of the space fleets of the old and new governments, and the Protagonist 2's own observations and experiences. We have to admit, when we pieced all of this together, we were almost incredulous. The amount of information is simply overwhelming!]

[Alright, let's continue. After the Control Bureau resurrected the previous director, the Protagonist 2, a scientist, wanted to witness this impossible event firsthand, but was refused.]

[From this, we can infer that the so-called Pneuma (soul) project is probably not as simple as we think. Such a resurrection, while a miracle, defies common sense.]

[Then, events took another unexpected turn. Three months later, the resurrected former director was executed by the FBC. Then, for the next three days, Project Pneuma was also suspended.]

[The Protagonist 2 was shocked; in fact, even we ourselves were somewhat incredulous when we got to this point.]

[According to the diary, Project Pneuma (Soul) was researched for over four years, with a significant investment of manpower and resources. Finally, they achieved the impossible miracle of resurrection. If it were any other scientist, I suspect they would have continued the research in depth. But the FBC halted it. Why? The Protagonist 2 doesn't understand, and neither do we.]

[However, based on the following diary entries and the existing clues, we guessed the answer ourselves. Please take a look at these two diary entries.]

As soon as he finished speaking, new screenshots of the diary were shown in the video.

Those are the diary entries from March 15th and 16th, 2448, which are the sixth and seventh days after the Pneuma (Soul) project was halted.

A suicide occurred at the headquarters of the Control Bureau.

The deceased were all high-ranking members of the FBC!

What these people have in common is that they all participated in the research of the Pneuma (Soul) Project!

In his diary, the Protagonist 2 stated that one of the deceased was his friend, and they had contacted each other the day before the suicide. The deceased did not seem like someone who would commit suicide.

There's clearly something wrong with this.

And on the 16th.

Suicides began to increase dramatically, and at the same time, a large number of people resigned from headquarters, causing panic among staff at various stations.

Players watching on screen had some guesses in their minds.

But they were unsure and uncertain.

So I stared at the screen, waiting for the analysis.

Then, the sound came through again in the video.

[First, we need to know why the FBC executed the resurrected former director. Was it because he had become a monster? Or was there some other reason?]

[Let's look at this step by step.]

[The diary reveals that the former bureau chief was resurrected on December 29th, but executed on March 6th of the following year—a difference of three months.]

[If the resurrected former director is a monster, why not execute him on the spot instead of waiting three months?]

[And what exactly happened during those three months that led the current FBC director to issue the execution order?]

[Here are three answers; see which one you think is correct. First, the former director turned into a monster within three months and was eventually executed. Second, the former director was tricked into revealing secrets he only knew himself, and was then silenced. Third, the former director revealed something that would have led the Control Bureau to execute him immediately.]

[Which one do you think it is?]

The players in front of the screen frowned in thought.

Of these three options, the first one is the most suitable.

But the second one seems to make sense too, otherwise why would they revive you? Why would they revive you just to catch up?

As for the third one... it's too strange to judge.

As a result, the video was filled with a barrage of digital comments.

The most frequent number is 2, followed by 1, and the least frequent number is 3.

It's clear that players still tend to believe there's a conspiracy among those at higher levels.

But soon, Brother Banana's voice rang out.

[Whether you chose 1 or 2, you're actually wrong. The correct answer is 3!]

The players in front of the screen were stunned, and many were incredulous.

How is that possible?

After a person is resurrected, he dies because he said something that would cause his death?

Isn't that a bit too much?

The players sat in front of their computers, waiting for an explanation.

Soon after, Brother Banana spoke up.

[Let's look at the first one.]

Based on previous games, we know that the Federal Bureau of Control is extremely rigorous when dealing with the supernatural. They have dedicated D-Class Personnel for experimental purposes, and they are given priority in any experiment.

Therefore, this Pneuma (soul) project, which took more than four years, was not conducted entirely on the former director. Instead, it consumed a large number of D-Class Personnel and went through countless failures before finally succeeding. Thus, only after gaining sufficient confidence did they dare to experiment on the deceased former director and successfully resurrect him.

Therefore, I think the possibility of the former chief becoming a monster after being resurrected is extremely low. On the contrary, the chances of him becoming a normal person after being resurrected are quite high. This also explains why the former chief survived for three months after being resurrected.

Upon seeing this, the players in front of the screen suddenly realized what was happening.

Indeed, according to this logic, the Control Bureau would not have started experiments on the former director without any certainty.

After all, there's only one body. What if it gets damaged? Who will be responsible?

Conversely, there are many D-Class Personnel.

Not only do many survive, but many also die, making it perfect for practice!

Brother Banana's voice can be heard again in the video.

[Now let's look at the second answer.]

[If I were the current director of the Control Bureau, and I spent considerable resources reviving my former leader and making it public knowledge, then spent three months extracting secrets from him, I would choose to assassinate him secretly, then fabricate a plausible reason to convince everyone, rather than 'execution,' a method of treating prisoners.]

[Isn't this too obvious? It's like telling everyone that I, the current bureau chief, am this kind of petty person. It doesn't seem like the demeanor one would expect from an organizational leader; instead, it sounds more like that of a petty capitalist and bureaucrat.]

[Moreover, this world is resource-scarce, and both the old and new governments are fully engaged in exploring the universe to find resources. How could the supreme leader of the Control Bureau be engaging in scheming and intrigue? That doesn't make sense, does it?]

Therefore, the second answer is also incorrect.

Players watching on screens still felt somewhat unconvinced.

Since the first and second most obvious ones are wrong, let's explain the third one.

So, it was as if they knew what the players were thinking.

In the video, Brother Banana speaks.

[Regarding the third answer, firstly, we need to know the reason for initiating the Soul Project. That's right, it stemmed from a mining company's secret research into ' Alien Architecture.' From this, we can infer that the Control Bureau definitely learned something from these ' Alien Architecture,' which is why they decided to conduct this Soul Project research.]

[Then, based on what they learned from the ' Alien Architecture,' they discovered a way to bring the dead back to life during their research.]

[Thus, after countless experiments, they finally succeeded in resurrecting the former director.]

[Then, they learned unbelievable facts from this man who had come back from the dead.]

[Do you remember what the first boss in the main story said?]

As soon as the words were spoken, a cylindrical device appeared in the video in front of the players.

This was the very place where we first encountered A-FBC-1000's ' Bigfoot '.

Many players who have played the game or watched it online know that the first boss in the main quest is hidden inside this cylinder!

This is the scene in the video.

At this moment, some key lines that had been edited out were played.

Immediately, a heavy, piercing sound rang out from inside the cylindrical device.

Meanwhile, the subtitles below are also displayed one by one.

Ancient humans were as clean as we are now; it is because of "it" that you have become filthy and twisted.

"During an experiment concerning the mind and soul, 'it's' existence was discovered, revealing that 'it' has always existed within your consciousness and has never left. Furthermore, its true form was discovered deep beneath the sea in the Chicxulub Crater."

"It" has given you negative emotions such as pain, anger, jealousy, and selfishness that shouldn't exist.

Seeing this, the players in front of the screen were even more confused.

What does this have to do with the death of the former director?

The players felt their brains weren't quite working, and they all waited for an explanation.

Brother Banana didn't keep you in suspense; after a moment's thought, he began to explain.

[From the preceding analysis, we have learned that the so-called 'it' is actually the ' Divine Seal '.]

[And the BOSS tells us that humans in a parallel world discovered the true form of the ' Divine Seal ' in a meteorite crater.]

[You can search for this meteorite crater online; it actually exists in our world, located deep underwater. There are rumors that this meteorite caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.]

[So, is it possible that the ' Divine Seal ' in this crater is actually the ' Alien Architecture ' I mentioned earlier?]

[Remember the previous analysis? Because humans discovered 'it' in the deep sea, 'it' began to affect humans again, causing headaches and hallucinations.]

[Then, we learned that this ' Divine Seal,' like Pandora's box, has brought us humans all sorts of negative emotions.]

[As an organization specializing in controlling Supernatural Anomaly, what do you think the Federal Bureau of Control would do about this ' Divine Seal ' that causes headaches and hallucinations?]

[For example, these shocking truths were learned from a deceased person. What would the Federal Bureau of Control do then?]

[Think about it: the living are unaware that such a thing exists within their consciousness. But the dead know it, and even speak of it. This makes the issue truly chilling.]

[This shows that even after death, without a physical body, humans can still discover 'it'. Think about it further: humans can still know 'it' after death, remember 'it', and even describe 'it' after resurrection. Doesn't this mean...?]

[Even after death, humans retain sensation, memory, and thought.]

In other words, after death, humans don't "know nothing" as we might imagine. Rather, they are "no different from when they were alive," only now they reside in another world without a physical body, a world belonging to the dead.

[In that world, humans who only possess spirit and consciousness are still bound by the ' Divine Seal '.]

[To use a common Huaxia expression, that would be...]

Brother Banana paused, organizing his thoughts as he spoke.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth.

[May they never be reincarnated...?]

Brother Banana paused for a moment after saying this.

It seems to be waiting for players to digest it.

But not long after, he spoke again.

[What this World of the Dead is like, I don't know, and no living person could possibly know.]

[Of all the people in the world, perhaps only the former director who rose from the dead knows what the world of the dead was like.]

[However, while we humans are alive, the ' Divine Seal ' can cause us headaches and hallucinations. Does it continue after death?]

[When the Protagonist 2 was affected by the ' Divine Seal,' he could alleviate the pain with painkillers and psychological counseling. But in the world of the dead, where only spirits and consciousness remain, can humans do the same? If not, does that mean...]

[Do humans suffer endless torment in another world after death?]

[Also, a reminder: The concept of the ' Divine Seal ' was established between humanity and 'it' from the very beginning, when we were still Wild Man.]

The earliest humans were Australopithecus, which lived 5.5 million years ago.

[So, imagine this: from 5.5 million years ago to the age of interstellar civilization, how many people died?]

[If all these people, as I just guessed, are being endlessly tormented by the ' Divine Seal ' in the World of the Dead in the form of spirit and consciousness, then...]

[What do you think the Control Bureau will do?]

The players fell silent upon seeing this.

The shocking content of the video caused a sense of horror and panic in them.

It seems like she's trying hard not to believe such absurd things.

But as players, we can't help but believe this storyline until a better explanation is found.

Although the content was exciting enough,

At this moment, a screenshot of a diary appeared in front of them in the video.

That was the diary entry for March 23, 2024.

Above is a standardized email sent by the Federal Bureau of Control to all its sites worldwide.

But this email was strange because it contained only six words.

'For what happens after death'.